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Prime Minister Keir Starmer vows to 'get on with governing' while under pressure to leave job

prime minister sir keir starmer.Image source, Getty Images
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The UK's Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has told his cabinet that he will "get on with governing", despite pressure from some of his team to step down from his job.

He has been under pressure because the Labour Party - the political party he is the leader of - had bad results in the recent Welsh and Scottish Parliament elections and local elections in England.

In a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning he asked the MPs gathered to support him, and told them that he would "take responsibility for these election results".

But said, that discussions about a possible change in leader "have been destabilising for government" and affected the UK's economy.

The Prime Minister also made clear that the process that would need to take place for challenging him as party leader, had not been triggered.

This means he will carry on as leader unless something else changes.

sir kier talking to his cabinet team.Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

The PM held an important meeting with members of his cabinet on Tuesday morning

Many of the cabinet members leaving the meeting with Keir Starmer told journalists that they were continuing to back him, but others didn't want to say anything and it's not clear if they support him or not.

The prime minister has been under increasing pressure after the first government minister resigned earlier, joining around 80 other Labour MPs (out of 403) who have urged the PM to quit immediately or draw up a timetable to leave.

No MP has yet launched a formal bid to challenge Keir Starmer.